Monday, February 27, 2012

"They won't listen." You sure about that?

Are you a “glass is half-full” or a “glass is half-empty” kind of person? The difference is not in what you see but in how you see it. Such perspective plays a huge role in how we view our witnessing opportunities.

As I look into Clarksville and Montgomery County, I see a community that is 86% unchurched. Almost 9-out-of-10 people in this county have no meaningful relationship with any house of worship of any faith. And it’s easy to assume, “They won’t listen.”

Look on the jail booking log sometime and you’ll see people right here in Montgomery County who’ve been arrested for domestic abuse and drug possession (often with the intent to sell) and prostitution and murder and theft and disorderly conduct. And it’s easy to assume, “They won’t listen.”

Go to public places, hang out with real people, listen to what they talk about, hear how they talk, and you might be surprised how little people think about God. So it’s easy to assume, “They won’t listen.”

But consider this—we can sit around lamenting that they won’t listen…or we can act as if they need to hear!

This reminds me of the shoe manufacturer who years ago decided to open the Congo market, so they sent two salesmen to the undeveloped territory. One salesman cabled back: “Prospect here nil. No one wears shoes.” The other salesman reported enthusiastically, “Market potential terrific! Everyone is barefooted.”

“…lift up your eyes and look on the fields, that they are white for harvest” (John 4:35).

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